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Reports posted here can be added to the LNHS database for use in the London Bird Report. If you would like yours to be added, please send your email address to the London Bird Club Data Manager, so that you can be contacted to resolve any problems. A scalable map of the London recording area can be found here. Please follow our standard format to assist automatic compilation of records into the database. (Note: there are some minor changes for records from 2019 onwards).. Please list sightings alphabetically by site. Only report sightings of wide interest rather than listing all common birds (sightings of a more general nature may be recorded on the General sightings page). DO NOT post details of nesting by scarce breeding birds (those included in Schedule 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, as amended). Any such reports will be removed; please submit them instead to the appropriate LNHS bird recorder. Friday 10th May 2019 *Alexandra Park: F Whinchat '''(FOY) perimeter playing fields, 2 Swallow, 12+ Swift, m Gadwall (APOG Birders) *Bentley Priory: Tawny Owl in conifer thicket at Northern edge of site (Richard Francis) *Brockwell Park: Common Buzzard (1st I've seen here), 3 Swift, 3 singing Blackcap (Michael Mac) *Broomfield Park: Grey Heron, 3m Mandarin Duck, 10 Tufted Duck 5m 5f, 3 Lesser Black-backed Gull 2ad imm, singing Collared Dove, Stock Dove, 7 Common Swift, Mistle Thrush, 2m Blackcap singing, 21+ Starling 8ad 13juvs, Chaffinch singing, 4 Goldfinch (Robert Callf) *Chiswick: Common Sandpiper on shoreline at Strand on the Green (Mike Foster) *Crossness: '''Knot (James Palmer) *Greenford UB6: Red Kite, 5 Swift over front garden, second garden record of Common Whitethroat in hedge (Neil Anderson) *Hyde Park: 2 Gadwall, House Martin, 2 Pochard, 21 Swift (Round Pond) (Ian R Watson) *Limehouse: (Royal Foundation of St Katherine nr DLR Station) 2 Grey Wagtails, Goldfinches, Blackbirds, Great Tit, Wood Pigeons, Mistle Thrush, Starlings. (Marion Hill) *London Wetland Centre: Shelduck, Ringed Plover, Little Ringed Plover, Black-tailed Godwit, Common Sandpiper, 2 Redshank, Common Tern, 24 Swift, Swallow, 3 Wheatear grazing marsh (WWT website) 4 LRP (2 prs), still 4 juv Lapwing on wader scrape, 1 Common Snipe, 3 Common Sandpiper, 2 Common Tern, 1m 2f Wheatear, 1 Yellow-bellied Slider (terrapin) on main lake (Martin Honey) *Mitcham Common: 2 Swift straight over Mill Hill, pr Little Grebe, singing Chiffchaff at 7 Island Pond, 40 House Sparrows at 3 Kings Pond and pr Mute Swans with 6 cygnets - 2nd year in 53 years bred here (Michael Mac) *Pinner Park Farm: Sedge Warbler (Richard Francis) *Queen Mother Reservoir: 3 Common Sandpiper 1315 (Peter Newbound via Berks BN) *Regent's Park: y'day's Spotted Flycatcher mainly in corkscrew willow on QMG lake island but flew across Inner Circle 0950 [worth checking large willow & silver birches at end of boating-lake in community-gdn (area 14) then] (Des McKenzie tweet) *Romford: Wood Warbler singing in sycamores by disabled car park at Queen's Hospital 0555 (Shaun Harvey tweet) *Ruislip Lido/Woods: pr Greylag, pr Egyptian Geese, m Gadwall, 3 Little Grebe, juv Heron standing on nest, 5 Buzzard incl 2pr, 3 Red Kite, 2 Hobby aggressively mobbing soaring Buzzard for several minutes until it dropped into wood, 4 Common Tern 2pr on raft, pr Black-headed Gull building nest on same raft, also Moorhen nesting on it, 6 Swift, 10+ House Martin, 3 singing Common Whitethroat, singing Garden Warbler, {2 Small Copper, f Holly Blue, f Brimstone, 2 m Orange Tip} (Neil Anderson/K. Bull) *Rye Meads RSPB: incl 3 Black-tailed Godwit fr draper hide am, Cuckoo (RSPB tweet) *St James's Park: Little Egret over E, Reed Warbler (Frank Nugent) *Tyttenhanger GPs: incl 2 Common Gull - 1st since March, Cuckoo (TyttGP tweet) *Wanstead Flats: Garden Warbler, Yellow Wagtail, Swift (Johnathan Lethbridge), 3 Meadow Pipit, Lesser Whitethroat, Cetti's Warbler, 20+ Swift, 4+ Skylark, 5 House Martin. Sand Martin, 6 Swallow, Mistle Thrush, 1w Yellow-legged Gull, Kestrel (Nick Croft) *Wanstead Park: Garden Warbler, Reed Warbler, Cetti's Warbler, 3 Stock Dove, 30+ Swift, 2-3 Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, 2 Hobby, Kingfisher (Nick Croft) *West Putney SW15: 13 Buzzard over mainly NW & W, Peregrine (R.Kaye, J.Wilczur) *Wimbledon Common: Cuckoo calling (Angela Evans-Hill per Les Evans-Hill) *Winchmore Hill: 3 Swifts over station, 09:50 (Paul Collins) *Worcester Park: 5 Swifts over the Hamptons, four days later than last year (Simon Osborn) Thursday 9th May 2019 *Alexandra Park: Yellow Wagtail N 0721, 10+ Swift, Little Grebe Boating Lake, 2 Black-headed Gull, Peregrine, 4 Jackdaw, Treecreeper (APOG Birders) *Amwell NR: ad Spoonbill again on mud fr viewpt 0725 then flew to favourite day-roosting site on right-hand side of heronry island in foliage & just outside Ldn Recording Area (Barry Reed/Herts BN tweets); Arctic Tern still, Black Tern fed over lake briefly 0945 (Murray Orchard tweet) *Barnehurst "DA7": 3 Swifts AM (Harry Halstead) *Brent Reservoir: Avocet, Ringed Plover (Brent Birders) *Eastcote: Red Kite very low over car park (Nigel Barratt) *Greenwich: 6 Swift (Ray Crouch) *Harrow "HA1": Peregrine Falcon (Shailesh Patel) *Hilly Fields Lewisham: Linnet singing, 2 Mistle Thrush, 2 Song Thrush, 2 Blackcap, Jay, male Great Spotted Woodpecker (Tom Moulton) Observed a pair of Ring-necked Parakeets trying to look into an active Blue Tit nest hole. Has anyone seen or heard of them taking eggs or nestlings? TM See this article regarding parakeets and their effect on native birds JW: InsideEcology *Hyde Park: 4 House Martin (Ray Crouch) *Ingrebourne Valley: Shelduck, Cuckoo, 12 Swift, 8 Skylark, 8 Reed Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat, 6 Common Whitethroat, Whinchat, Yellow Wagtail, 2 Linnet (Dave McGough) *King George V Res: 1 Black Tern, 2 Arctic Tern, 60 Common Tern, 1 Dunlin, 6 Common Sandpiper, 1 Little Ringed Plover 4.30-5.45 (Ian Lycett) *Leatherhead, Randalls Way: 19 Common Swift, 1 Blackcap (Neil Batten) *London Wetland Centre: Shelduck, Ringed Plover, 4 Little Ringed Plover, Black-tailed Godwit, Common Snipe, 3 Redshank, 2 Common Tern, Wheatear (WWT website) *Motspur Park: Peregrine on gas holders (Bob Smith) *Pinner "HA5": Red Kite chased by gulls (Nigel Barratt) *Queen Mother Reservoir: Dunlin, 4 Common Sandpiper 1225 (Peter Newbound via Berks BN) *Rainham RSPB: Pink-footed Goose, Cattle Egret, 4 Oystercatcher, 2 Ringed Plover, 3 Bar-tailed Godwit, Knot, Greenshank, 3m Cuckoo, m Stonechat, Wheatear (Howard Vaughan, Russell Sherriff via ELBF FB); 3 Wigeon, 3 Marsh Harrier, 3 Common Buzzard, 2 Water Rail, 2 Kestrel, 6 Avocet, 2 Grey Plover, 12 Whimbrel, Ruff, Mediterranean Gull, 3 Common Tern, 500 Swift, Raven, 40 Sand Martin, 4 Swallow, 20 House Martin, Lesser Whitethroat, Corn Bunting (Martin Jordan per ELBF FB); 22 Dunlin (Andy Tweed per ELBF FB); Common Snipe, Garden Warbler (Ian Lycett per ELBF FB) *Regent's Park: Spotted Flycatcher 13:15 from boardwalk Queen Mary's Gardens lake 17 (G J Francis) *Rye Meads RSPB: Grey Plover s/p still fr draper hide 0900 (RSPB tweet) *St.Pauls Cathedral EC2: BLYTH'S REED WARBLER commuting between St.Pauls Churchyard and 25 Cannon Street Gardens, last seen at the latter (briefly) at 15.30, link of images to follow. (Ken Murray) images images Great sighting! But any reason for late posting? I would have been straight over there if this had been posted earlier, it’s just across the river from my work! RB The last time I put out via Birdguides an Inner London Rare no one turned up! A Yellow-browed Warbler behind Liverpool St. Station, September 2014. It seems you can't please everybody all of the time? KM. You can't of course, but here's an appeal to keep posting on here as early as possible from me at least. Thanks, RB deleted & post restored NB some pics show flesh-coloured legs w/ supercilium not extending behind eye. Ken - what are the features that make you think this is a BRW rather than a Reed Warbler? Mike Earp. BRW a BB rare, 50+ people came for the Wanstead one and many more would have come if it had stayed, as for the YBW I heard a few people went but couldn't find it! Nick Croft.'' To answer the question....Short wings, emargination (where the leading edge of the wing appears to disappear upwards) in line within the last tertial (in Reed the emargination is further down the wing outside the tertial area), pp extending to circa 50% of overlying tertials (in Reed it's between 65 and 100%) movement much faster than Reed, at times almost Phyllosc.like. KM'' If it's singing and recorded a soundcloud analysis should nail it (NS). Why no images added to this wiki? (Andrew Haynes) *South Norwood CP: incl Common Sandpiper still, 2 Swift, 2 Lesser Whitethroat (John Hughes via Croydon Birders) *Staines Reservoir: 4 Dunlin, Black Tern 0900 (Lee Ridley tweet) *Stoneleigh Station "KT17": 3 Blackcap, 2 Stock Dove w. Still no Swifts here - 9 days late (Neil Batten) *Ten Acre Woods area: Cuckoo, Cetti's Warbler (Jim Fell) *The Brook "BR5": 13 Swift, 3 Mute Swan, 3-4 Blackcap, 2 Stock Dove, Jay, 2 Chiffchaff, 3 Song Thrush, Egyptian Goose, Moorhen still with juvs (Jack Headley) *Wanstead Flats: 20+ Swift, 9 Swallow, 4 House Martin, 2 Lesser Witethroat, Cetti's Warbler, 3 Meadow Pipit, 4 Skylark, 2 Gadwall, 3 Pochard, 4 Tufted Duck, 5 Stock Dove, 2 Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, 2 Kestrel (Nick Croft) *Wembley Central Station: 2 Swift (Charlie Farrell) *West Harrow: 5 Swift (FOY here - 2 days later than last year) (Alex Massey) *Worcester Park: 2 Swifts over Station 11.35am - 3 days later than last year (Kath O’Halloran) Wednesday 8th May 2019 *Alexandra Park: Common Sandpiper, 10 Swallow, 15+ House Martin, 20 Swift, pair Gadwall, pair Pochard, Greylag (APOG Birders) *Amwell NR "Gt Hardmead Lake": Osprey over 0620 (Mike Ilett tweet); Ringed Plover, Knot 0820-0830, 3 Dunlin, Common Sandpiper, Yellow-legged Gull, Arctic Tern (Barry Reed via Herts BC); Black Tern fr viewpt 1240-2020 at least (Mike Ilett/Ron Cousins/Murray Orchard tweets) *Brent Reservoir: pair Egyptian Geese with 7 goslings and an adopted Mallard duckling, Avocet north marsh (Andrew Self) *Clapham Old Town-Maritime House: 4 Swifts return to nest locations, 1 Swallow over (Michael Mac) *Clissold Park 20+ Swifts over large lake pm (Ernest Thomason) *Greenwich Peninsula Ecology Park: 18 Common Tern, 5 Sand Martin, 2 Pied Wagtail pair, Grey Wagtail, 3 Reed Warbler, Blackcap male, 2 Reed Bunting pair (John Bushall) *Hilfield Park Reservoir: 20+ Black Tern, 5+ Arctic Tern, 15+ Common Tern 20:00 (Allan Stewart) *Holmethorpe SPs "05.30": Ringed Plover, Dunlin both Mercers L pontoon, 3 Common Sandpiper Mercers L, 2+ Greenshank h leaving water colours lagoon (Gordon Hay via Surrey BN) *Ingrebourne Valley: Greenshank (Paul Hawkins per ELBF FB); Wheatear (Shaun Harvey per ELBF FB) *Leatherhead, Randalls Way: 8 Common Swift, 5 House Martin, 1 Blackcap, 2 Pied Wagtail (Neil Batten) *London Wetland Centre: incl 2 Little Ringed Plover, Common Sandpiper, 4 Redshank, Common Tern, Willow Warbler, 3 Chiffchaff, 2 Lesser Whitethroat, Common Whitethroat, Wheatear, Yellow Wagtail (WWT website); Shelduck, 150 Swift, 4 Little Ringed Plover, Black-tailed Godwit, 3 Dunlin, Common Snipe, Common Gull, 4 Common Tern, Hobby, White Wagtail (Oscar Dewhurst) *Pimlico Gardens: 27 Black-headed Gull upriver, 4 Common Tern upriver, 2 Common Sandpiper (Nick Senior) *Pinner Park Farm: m Whinchat (Dan Pinkham) *Queen Mother Reservoir: Turnstone, 2 Dunlin, 3 Common Sandpiper 1700 (Marek Walford via Berks BN) *Rainham RSPB: "R Thames" Red-breasted Merganser, 3 Black Tern by late-am (BirdGuides); Cattle Egret, Common Gull 1s (Howard Vaughan et al via ELBF FB); also Pink-footed Goose still, 4 Oystercatcher, 12 Avocet, 2 Grey Plover, 3 Ringed Plover, 2 Little Ringed Plover, 8 Whimbrel, Curlew, 16 Bar-tailed Godwit, 8 Knot, 2 Ruff, 40 Dunlin, Sanderling, 2 Common Sandpiper, Greenshank, 37 Common Tern, 24 Arctic Tern, 8''' Black Tern, 100 Swift, 2 Hobby, 120 Sand Martin, 12 Swallow, 2 House Martin, f Wheatear (Andy Tweed, Sue Healey, Nick Croft et al per ELBF FB); 4+ '''Curlew Sandpiper foy (Nick Croft) *Richmond Park: 15 Greylag including 2 broods totalling 4 young, 7 Pochard 3m 4f, 5 Cormorant pr & 3 young, 3 Common Sandpiper, 23 Black-headed Gull, 7 Common Tern, 20+ Swallow, m Pied Wagtail (J.Wilczur) *Rye Meads RSPB: 3 Whimbrel E 0800 (Alan Harris via Herts BC); Grey Plover s/p fr draper hide 0855 (Allan Meadows tweet); GP still 1330 (Graham Knight tweet) *St James's Park: Grey Wagtail on island opposite cafe (Jack Hill) *Sevenoaks WR: Common Sandpiper, 20 Swift, 200+ Sand Martin, 30 House Martin 1600-1700 (Mathew Bournat via Kent OS) *Seventy Acres Lake: Black Tern opp bittern_watchpt 1045 (Kevin Standbridge tweet); Whinchat TL374030 (BirdGuides) *South Norwood CP: Common Sandpiper (John Hughes via Croydon Birders) I have altered location as this was incorrectly assigned to South Norwood Lake when first posted on this website. (Croydon Birders Admin) Sorry JB - loc'n got transposed with that for 6 May *Staines Reservoirs: 4 Grey Plover, 1 Bar-tailed Godwit, 3 Dunlin, 2 Black Tern early am (Ken Purdey, Bob Warden per FJM); Little Ringed Plover, 22 Dunlin, Common Sandpiper, 3 Redshank, 23+ Black Tern, Hobby (Dom Pia tweet) *The Brook BR5: 2 Swift (FOY), Egyptian Goose (Jack Headley) *Trent Park: Common Buzzard, 2 Kestrel, singing m Lesser Whitethroat, singing m Common Whitethroat, singing m Garden Warbler, 10 Long-tailed Tit 3ad 7juv, Treecreeper carrying food Icehouse Wd (Robert Callf) *Troy Mill Lake nr Maple Cross: 3 Eurasian Wigeon, c200 Common Swift, 10 Barn Swallow, c50 House Martin, Cetti’s Warbler, 2 Garden Warbler pm (Paul Lewis tweet) *Tyttenhanger GPs and Willows Farm: Wheatear willows fm (Steve Blake via Herts BC); Black Tern main gp briefly then high N 1815 (Rupert Evershed tweet) *Walthamstow Wetlands: 2 Black Tern east warwick res, Ringed Plover, Yellow Wagtail am (Eugene Dillon-Hooper tweet); Dunlin East Warwick pm (Lol Cumming tweet); "3.30-4.30" no Black Terns, 1 Dunlin E Warwick, 2 Common Sandpipers, Arctic Tern Lockwood, 3 Common Terns, c200 Swifts, Peregrine, 2 Sparrowhawk, Kingfisher (Tom Jordan) Tuesday 7th May 2019 *Alexandra Park: Reed Warbler (foy) Balancing Pond, 2 Common Tern briefly (foy), f Greenland Wheatear filter bed 4, Common Buzzard NW, Peregrine (also headless dove seen locally), pair Gadwall, m Pochard, 20+ Swift, 9 Swallow (APOG Birders) *Banbury Reservoir, Walthamstow "no access": 5 Black Tern viewable at times from Banbury Rd 'til 12.30 at least (Lol Bodini/Pete Lambert); 1+ Black Tern still at 16:15 (Nick Croft) *Bankside “SE1”: Reed Warbler at east end of Tate Modern at 12.30 (Reuben Braddock) *Beckenham Crematorium/Cemetery: Hobby high up with large prey seemed to be eating on the wing? Cock Pheasant came out of undergrowth called and for 45mins walking (had mild limp) around feeding among the grave stones and calling - showed no real fear of me, 1 Swift, no sign of Cuckoo (Michael Mac) *Beckenham Junction Train Station: House Sparrows a few chirping in the bushes (Michael Mac) *Belsize Park: 1 Common Swift low over - think I heard it calling briefly too. (Kat) *Brent Reservoir: 3 Common Sandpiper, Little Ringed Plover, 15 Swift, 8 House Martin, 3 Grey Wagtail (Toby Mylett) *Brixton: 2 Common Swift over St Matthew's Church 08.15 (Matthew J. Bradbury) *Brockwell Park: f Whinchat in fenced off meadow area (another good reason to make this into a bird area, excluding dogs!) by BMX track, still present after 1 hour to 11:45 + pr House Sparrows (Michael Mac); Whinchat still present at 5:00pm (Steven Robinson) *Crossness "Foreshore & River": 39 Shelduck, 2 Grey Heron, 2 Mute Swan, Black-tailed Godwit, Little Egret, 6 Cormorant, 5 Oystercatcher, 4 Reed Warbler, c50 Gadwall, 2 Herring Gull, 4 Great Black-backed Gull, c150 Black-headed Gull (Bernie Weight) *Crossness NR: 2 Little Ringed Plover, Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Redshank, 10 Cetti's Warbler, 21+ Reed Warbler, Willow Warbler, 2 Wheatear m f, 2 Skylark, 5 Lapwing, 4 Reed Bunting, 4 Shelduck, 3 Little Grebe & 1 young, 2 Gadwall, 7 Pochard, 8+ Common Whitethroat, 4 Blackcap, 2 Chiffchaff, Peregrine on Incinerator chimney, Marsh Harrier, {Green Hairstreak} (Bernie Weight) *Dungeon Hill: Hobby high S then E 1555 (Ian Ward per Duncan Jennings via DH blog) *Eltham: male Wheatear in front garden then neighbours front steps (P Kite) *Hampstead Heath “Parliament Hill 06.30-08.00”: 2 House Martin N, 1 Swallow N, 1 Swift distant over Kenwood then off, Lesser Whitethroat still, Common Whitethroat in song flight, Grey Wagtail model boating pond (Reuben Braddock) *Harold Wood Park: incl 3 Swift, m Lesser Whitethroat, 2m Common Whitethroat, Spotted Flycatcher (Colin Jupp per ELBF FB/AM) *Hounslow Heath "08.15-08.30": 1 m Whinchat, 1 Common Buzzard (Andy Roberts) *Hyde Park: 3 House Martin (Ray Crouch); 5 House Martin, 6 Swift Round Pond (Ian R Watson) *Ingrebourne Valley: Whinchat (Shaun Harvey per ELBF FB) *KGV Res "8.00-8.40pm": 4 Black Terns (A.Middleton) *Leatherhead, Randalls Way: 2 Common Swift, 2 House Martin, 2 Common Buzzard, 3 Stock Dove, 2 singing Blackcap, 1 Ring-necked Parakeet (Neil Batten) *London Wetland Centre: Little Egret, Ringed Plover, 4 Little Ringed Plover, Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Common Snipe, 4 Redshank, 4 Common Tern, 21 Swift, Nightingale singing on main lake/reedbed border nr headley hide am, Wheatear (WWT website); Common Buzzard, Yellow Wagtail, 3 Wheatear, Lesser Whitethroat (Oscar Dewhurst); still 4 Lapwing chicks on wader scrape (Martin Honey); Chiffchaff singing near the entrance lake (Shailesh Patel); Whinchat grazing marsh pm (Sue Barry) *Mayflower Park: Hobby N, Red Kite S (Bob Smith) *Motspur Park: Peregrine (Bob Smith) *North Finchley: 3 Swift over house 18.00 hrs - same date as last year (John Colmans) *Pimlico Gardens: Common Sandpiper downriver, Yellow-legged Gull 2cy on moored barges (Nick Senior) *Queen's Park: 2 Blackcap m f present in NE woodland at 0900 (Callum Farrell-Morris) *Rainham RSPB: Cattle Egret, 3 Marsh Harrier, 3 Common Buzzard, 12 Avocet, 8 Whimbrel, 4 Bar-tailed Godwit, 2 Dunlin, Greenshank, 12 Hobby, 2 Whinchat, 2 Wheatear, White Wagtail (Howard Vaughan, Andy Tweed et al via ELBF FB) *Richmond Park: Common Redstart heard singing in paddocks (M.Lewis) 1 fem Wheatear, 1 Whinchat, 1 Red-legged Partridge (Hugh Bradshaw); 2 Shelduck on ground early morning (S.Read) *Ruislip Lido: 3 Egyptian Geese, 8 Common Tern, c20 House Martin (Michael Hammond) *Ruislip Woods "Poor's Field": Garden Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat, 4 Common Whitethroat (Michael Hammond) *St James's Park: Sedge Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat (Frank Nugent); singing Garden Warbler (Jack Hill) *South Norwood CP: Cuckoo called twice from cemetery border 0645 (John Hughes via Croydon Birders) *Staines Reservoirs: 11 Black Tern, 1 Dunlin early pm (Dave Morris per FJM) *Tooting Common: Common Whitethroat singing (Alan Wilkinson); 12 Swift over lake, Hobby high W 16:45 (James Hudson) *Totteridge Valley: 6 Lapwing, 3 singing Lesser Whitethroat, Sparrowhawk, 3 Swallow, 8 Chiffchaff, 12 Common Whitethroat, 14 Blackcap, 3 Rook (John Colmans) *Tufnell Park “N7”: 4 Swift - local breeders back over Huddleston Road at 17.00 (Reuben Braddock) *Walthamstow Wetlands: 2 Goldeneye, 3+ Black Tern (over Banbury as above but viewed from Lockwood reservoir), 3 Wheatear, 6 Common Sandpiper, Garden Warbler, Little Ringed Plover (Chris Farthing) *Wanstead Flats: Spotted Flycatcher west end of long wd 1025 (Wanstead Birding tweet); 3 Whinchat, Wheatear, Hobby, Sparrowhawk, 9 Swallow, 3 House Martin, 6 Swift, 4 Lesser Whitethroat, Cetti's Warbler, Linnet, 4 Meadow Pipit, 5 Skylark, 2 Stock Dove, 2 Gadwall, Mistle Thrush (Nick Croft/Bob Vaughan/Simon Raper) *Waterworks NR: f Whinchat am (BirdGuides); 2 Garden Warbler pair near wooden boat, 2 Yellow Wagtail pair at hide, Sedge Warbler h (Paul Francis) *Winchmore Hill: 1 Swift over station, 19:30pm (Paul Collins) *Woodberry Wetlands: 23 Reed Warbler, 2 Sedge Warbler all singing males (Chris Farthing) Monday 6th May 2019 *Alexandra Park: Common Sandpiper, Sand Martin, 6 Swallow, Greylag, 2 Peregrine, Little Egret, Treecreeper (APOG Birders) *Battersea Reach: {Of interest - Atlantic Grey Seal off Cremorne Gardens 14:00-15:00} (Des McKenzie tweet) *Brent Reservoir: 2 Common Tern, 16 Swift, Swallow, 50+ House Martin, 2 Cetti's Warbler, singing Reed Bunting (Andrew Verrall); 2 Little Ringed Plover, singing Garden Warbler (Roy Beddard); Hobby low over the Dump towards North Marsh 16:15 (Tim Rymer) *Chiswick Park Station: 2 Hobby low west 14:44 (Nick Senior) *Clissold Park: 1 Sedge warbler singing in reeds of large lake, 2m Red-crested Pochards, {Painted Lady butterfly} (Ernest Thomason) *Crofton Park SE4: 3 Swift feeding early am, Red Kite over west 5.00pm 2nd garden sighting (Phil Laurie) *Crossness: Black-tailed Godwit, Redshank, 4 Lapwing, 2 Little Ringed Plover, 1st-summer Yellow-legged Gull, 2 Common Gull, 10 Reed Warbler, 4 Lesser Whitethroat, 4 Swift, Yellow Wagtail paddocks, 2 Wheatear paddocks (Richard Bonser) *Dalston: 2 Swift (Jon Agar) *Dollis Valley: singing Garden Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat, Common Buzzard (John Colmans) *Fairlop Waters: Cuckoo, Shelduck, Little Owl (Neil Twyford); Whinchat, Sedge Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat, Common Whitethroat, Swift, Swallow, House Martin (Alan Bell/Neil Twyford) *Greenwich Ecology Park: Common Sandpiper (John Bushell) *Hainault Lodge: Nightingale (Alan Bell/Neil Twyford) *Hampstead Heath: Now 2 Lesser Whitethroats (Pete Mantle) *Kensington Gardens: 40 Swift, 8 House Martin, 3 Swallow, 1 Garden Warbler (Nick Senior) *London Wetland Centre: Black-tailed Godwit, 4 Little Ringed Plover, 1 Common Sandpiper, 4 Redshank, Lapwing with 4 chicks still, 1f Wheatear (Martin Honey) *Lombardy Retail Park, Hayes: Red Kite (Eric Gray) *Middlesex Filter Beds: 1 Lesser Whitethroat singing along Hackney Marshes border, 2 Grey Wagtail (inc 1 juv) below the weir, 1 Reed Warbler (Alastair Dent) *Molesey: Great Egret high E towards Hampton Crt 0645 (Dave Harris tweet) *Mudchute Farm: m Common Redstart aft (John Booth tweet) *Pinner Park Farm: Wheatear, Lesser Whitethroat, 2 Swallow, 2 Common Whitethroat (Tim Rymer) *Rainham Marshes RSPB: 2 Stonechats, 2 Cuckoos, 9 Whimbrels, 2 Ruffs, 3 Bar-tailed Godwits, 8 Avocets, Greenshank, 2 Little Ringed Plovers, 2 Ringed Plovers, Grey Plover, Cattle Egret, Spoonbill, 2 drake Wigeon, Hobby, 3 Dunlins, Pink-footed Goose, f Wheatear (Ian Bradshaw); also Great Egret orange-billed bird, 7 Little Egret, pr Bullfinch, Corn Bunting, 4 Oystercatcher, 2 Greenshank, 3m Cuckoo, 300 Swift, 9 Whimbrel, pr Stonechat (Howard Vaughan via ELBF FB) *Richmond Park: pr Egyptian Geese with 8 new chicks, 15 Mandarin, Common Buzzard, Common Tern, 5+ Swift, 3 Skylark, 15+ House Martin, 7+ Swallow, 20+ Sand Martin, m Stonechat, 3 singing Whitethroat, 4 Reed Bunting (Neil Anderson/K. Bull); 2 Whinchat, 9''' Wheatear (P.Pentek); 2 Whitethroat, Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Treecreeper, Common Buzzard over (T Vine) *South Lodge Farm: Red-legged Partridge, 7 Stock Dove, Common Swift, 16 Barn Swallow (Robert Callf) *South Norwood Lake: Common Sandpiper (John Watson via Croydon Birders) *Staines Moor "07.15-09.00": 1 Little Owl, 2 Red-legged Partridge, 2 fem Wheatear, 1 Common Buzzard, 1 Red Kite (Andy Roberts) *Staines Reservoir "06.15-07.00": 1 m Scaup, 3 Common Sandpipers, 1 Little Ringed Plover, 20+ Common Tern, 40+ Swift (Andy Roberts) *Stoneleigh Broadway KT17: 1 Common Buzzard w am. Worrying absence of Swifts here. Now 7 days later than previous years. (Neil Batten) *Swanscombe Marsh: Marsh Harrier, Cuckoo, Bearded Tit, Rook, {family of Weasels} (Andrew Self); “Botany Marsh” 2 Jay, 2 Shelduck, 10+ Common Whitethroat, 4 Cetti's Warbler h, 6+ Blackcap, 2 Chiffchaff, 8 Greylag Goose, 2 Canada Goose, Cuckoo h, 2 Sedge Warbler, 9+ Reed Warbler (Roger Keith) *Thamesmead: 15 Sand Martin Southmere (Richard Bonser) *Walthamstow Marshes "paddocks, boardwalk, Bomb Crater Field, Leyton Marsh": 3 Lesser Whitethroat (singing), 4 Reed Bunting (3m 1f), 8 Common Whitethroat, 2 Sedge Warbler, 1 Reed Warbler, 1 Stock Dove, 4 Linnet, 1 Pied Wagtail, 6 Sand Martin, 2 Swift, 2 Egyptian Geese (Alastair Dent) *Wanstead Flats: 2 singing Garden Warbler, 3 Lesser Whitethroat, Cetti's Warbler, 2 Yellow Wagtail, 2 Meadow Pipit, 5 House Martin, 6 Sand Martin, 11 Swallow, 22 Swift, 3 Stock Dove, Red Kite, Common Buzzard, 2 Kestrel, 5 Skylark, 7 Black-headed Gull, several hundred Herring and Lesser Black-backed Gull moving through, '''Yellow-legged Gull (Nick Croft/James Heal) *West Hyde: m Ring Ouzel on newly-tilled field by rbt midday-1645 at least (Herts BN/Stephen Middleton tweets) *Woolwich: adult Yellow-legged Gull King Henry's Wharf (Richard Bonser) Sunday 5th May 2019 *Alexandra Park: Common Sandpiper, 2 Greylag, Common Buzzard, 2 Swallow, Peregrine, m Red-crested Pochard, Little Egret, Swift (APOG Birders) *Chelsea, Cremorne Gardens: Canada Goose x Greylag Goose hybrid (Tess Hawes) *Danson Park: Common Sandpiper plus 6 Swallows and usual species (Harry Halstead) *Hilly Fields Lewisham: Swift, Linnet singing, 3 Blackcap (Tom Moulton) *Ingrebourne Valley: Spoonbill W 0730 (Dave Morrison tweet) *Kingston Bridge: 6 Sand Martin, 5 Swallow, 2 Pied Wagtail carrying food, 1 Cormorant ( Neil Batten) *Ladywell Fields: Kingfisher, 2 Mandarin drake, 4 Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Grey Wagtail, Song Thrush (Tom *Lee Valley Cornmill Meadows: 3-4 pairs of Lapwing incl 2 incubating pairs and a pair with 3 small young, displaying pair of Redshanks, 2 Little Ringed Plovers, Snipe (Ian Bradshaw) *Lee Valley Bowyers Water: redhead f Smew (groveland Park bird?) (Ian Bradshaw) *Lee Valley Fisher Green: 3 Nightingales singing (Ian Bradshaw) *Hackney Marshes, Lea Filterbeds: 12 Swift (Jon Agar) *Purfleet "R Thames": Little Egret, f Marsh Harrier, Common Buzzard, 2 Whimbrel, 3 Bar-tailed Godwit, ad Mediterranean Gull, Roseate Tern foy & personal patch tick upriver 1425, Hobby, Wheatear (Fraser Simpson tweet) *Rainham Marshes: 31 Shelduck, 1 Wigeon, Pochard brood of six ducklings, 1 Little Grebe, 2 Great Crested Grebe, Cattle Egret, 8 Little Egret, 2 Marsh Harrier, 8 Avocet, 7 Whimbrel, 3 Bar-tailed Godwit, Ruff, Common Sandpiper, 4 Greenshank, c200 Swift, Great Spotted Woodpecker, 2 Kestrel, c50 Sand Martin, c20 Swallow, c30 House Martin, Lesser Whitethroat, Mistle Thrush, Wheatear (Teodor Yankov, Tom Jordan). *Richmond Park: Whimbrel briefly on grass by upper pen pond 05.15, 2 Shelduck over, Common Sandpiper, 8 Common Tern, 4 Swallow, 6 Sand Martin, 50 House Martin (Oscar Dewhurst); 4m Red-crested Pochard, Hobby, Peregrine, Red Kite, 12+ Swift, Pied Wagtail (P & S. Pentek, J.Wilczur) *Ruxley GPs "permit only": incl 6 Reed Warbler, 2 Cetti's Warbler, Reed Bunting, 1-2 Great Spotted Woodpecker, Kingfisher (Jack Headley, Dartford Ringing Group et al) *South Lodge Farm: 3 Red-legged Partridge, 28 Stock Dove (Robert Callf) *Staines Reservoir: Temminck's Stint s/p causeway n side briefly 1035 then flew towards KGVI Res, 4+ Arctic Tern (Roger Morton tweet) *Ten Wood area: 6 Pheasant (1 seen), 2 Little Egret in flight together, Common Buzzard, Red Kite, m Kestrel, Swift, 2 Skylark, 2-4 Swallow (local breeders), 19 singing Blackcap, 25+ Common Whitethroat, 3 singing Garden Warbler (1 seen record site count), 2 singing Lesser Whitethroat, 3 singing Chiffchaff, 5 Reed Bunting, 4 Linnet (Neil Anderson) *Tooting Common: Willow Warbler, 3 Swift, 15 Egyptian Geese (Peter White, Alan Wilkinson) *Walthamstow Marshes: 11 Swift, Lesser Whitethroat (Jon Agar) *Walthamstow Wetlands: 100+ Swift, 3 Little Egret, 18 Sand Martin, 64 House Martin, 4 Cetti's Warbler, Sedge Warbler, 6 Reed Warbler, 8 Blackcap, Lesser Whitethroat, Common Whitethroat, 2 Grey Wagtail (Alex Bailey); 2 Arctic Tern N over Lockwood 19.40 (Lol Bodini) *Wanstead Flats: Garden Warbler, 3 Lesser Whitethroat, 12 Common Whitethroat, Cetti's Warbler, 2 Hobby, Kestrel, 2 Common Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, 3 Swallow, 2 House Martin, Swift, Meadow Pipit, 5 Skylark (Wanstead Birders) *Wanstead Park: Hobby, Kestrel, Cetti's Warbler, Reed Warbler, 8 m Common Whitethroat, Little Egret, 2 Gadwall (Nick Croft) *West Norwood Cemetery: 1 Swift, 2 singing Blackcap, Peregrine, tame Red Fox, 15 adult Starling in grass no young (Michael Mac) *Yeading Brook meadows: Pheasant heard, Little Egret, 2 Red Kite, Swift, 7 singing Blackcap, 10 Common Whitethroat, singing Lesser Whitethroat, singing Cetti's Warbler (my first record in this area), 2 singing Chiffchaff, {Small Copper} (Neil Anderson) Saturday 4th May 2019 *Alexandra Park: no sign of Red-throated Diver, Common Sandpiper Wood Green Res, 2 Little Egret, 6 Swallow, 4 Sand Martin, Swift, 2m Red-crested Pochard (APOG Birders) *Brent Reservoir: drake Mandarin, 7 Common Buzzard, 3 Red Kite, Hobby, 2 Peregrine, 2 Common Snipe, Common Sandpiper, 170+ Swift, 52 singing Blackcap (Brent Birders) *Crossness: Common Sandpiper, 1st-summer Caspian Gull between golf centre and pier, Yellow Wagtail N over paddocks 0930, 2 Sand Martin, 2 Lesser Whitethroats (Richard Bonser) *Hampstead Heath "Parliament Hill": Lesser Whitethroat heard but not seen, 2 Swallows N, House Martin N, Linnet SE (Pete Mantle) *London Wetland Centre: 2 Shelduck, 4 Little Ringed Plover, 4 Redshank, 1 Black-tailed Godwit, 1 Common Sandpiper, 4 Swift, 6 House Martin, 1 Wheatear, 1 Kestrel, 1 Whimbrel E, 1 Lesser Whitethroat h (Martin Honey); Hobby, 6+ Swift, {Small Copper} (Neil Anderson) *Queen Mother Reservoir: Great Northern Diver circled 0830 (Peter Newbound via Berks BC) *Rainham Marshes "80 species": including 4 trilling Little Grebe, 5-6 Little Egret, Cattle Egret, 2 Wigeon pr, 4 Marsh Harrier, 2 Hobby, 2 Oystercatcher, 6 Avocet, Little Ringed Plover, 3 Ringed Plover, 3 Grey Plover, 5 Common Snipe, 5 Whimbrel, 3 Bar-tailed Godwit, 5 Black-tailed Godwit, 3 Greenshank, 2 adult Mediterranean Gull upriver 09:30, 1-2 Common Tern, all three regular hirundines, 2 Yellow Wagtail heard, 2 female Northern Wheatear (Des McKenzie, Nick Tanner) *Rye Meads NR: 1m Garganey, Common Snipe, Wigeon, Garden Warbler, Swift (Eduardo López Salas) *The Brook "BR5": 4+ Blackcap, 2 Chiffchaff, 2 Cormorant, 3 Stock Dove, Egyptian Goose (Jack Headley) *Walthamstow Marshes: Wheatear, 5 Linnet, 2 Stock Dove (rear paddocks), 3 Lesser Whitethroat, 6 Common Whitethroat, 3 Swift, 6 Sand Martin (Alastair Dent) *Wanstead Flats: Garden Warbler, 3 Lesser Whitethroat, Cetti's Warbler, Shelduck, Yellow Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, 4 Skylark, 3 Swift, 3 Swallow, Kestrel, Buzzard, Mistle Thrush (Wanstead Birders) *Wanstead Park: Reed Warbler (James Heal) *Wood Vale N10: Lesser Whitethroat perimeter of Sports Ground (Trevor Wyatt) Friday 3rd May 2019 *Alexandra Park: Immature Red-throated Diver found by Bruce Carson on Tunnel reservoir (the small body of water north of Wood Green Reservoir) 0820-1720 and also getting onto adjacent New River it forayed as far as the pump house south of the filter beds and then back to Tunnel Res then N along the New River and circled landing on Wood Green Res where present until 2005 at least, also 15 Swallow, 20+ Swift, pair Gadwall, pair Peregrine, 2 Common Buzzard, Red Kite N, 2m Red-crested Pochard, ad Black-headed Gull, 1 House Martin, 2 Little Egret, Common Whitethroat, Treecreeper (APOG Birders) *Brixton Town Hall: 2 Swifts high up (Michael Mac) *Clapham Common: Garden Warbler (between Mount Pond and Bandstand) in full voice, Blackcap, 4 Stock Dove, friendly Gadwall on Long Pond (Mark H) no surname all 27 patch posts since 2011 *Crossness: Sparrowhawk, 2 Peregrine, 2 Lapwing, Dunlin, 3 Black-tailed Godwit, 50+ Common Tern, 2 Swift, 4 Swallow, 24 Sand Martin, Skylark, 6 Blackcap, 16 Common Whitethroat, 2 Lesser Whitethroat, 15 Reed Warbler, 8 Cetti's Warbler, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Reed Bunting (Conrad Ellam) *Dungeon Hill: Grasshopper Warbler site-1st reeling 0830 (Graham Harris via DH Wildlife FB) *Ewell West Station: 1 singing Blackcap (Neil Batten) *Hampstead Heath: Whitethroat singing at Pryor's Field am (Pete Mantle) *Hemans Estate Community Garden: House Sparrow only just starting to re-build nest in roof hole used last year (Michael Mac) *Leatherhead, Randalls Way: 1 House Martin w, 4 Swallow w, 1 Common Buzzard sw, 2 Blackcap (Neil Batten) N Batten - pls use commas not periods or ampersands to separate species thx *Lee Valley Olympic Park: 3 Reed Warbler, 2 Common Whitethroat, Green Woodpecker, Jay, 10+ Sand Martin, Peregrine (Richard Harrison) *London Wetland Centre: Shelduck, Teal, 40 Swift, 3 Little Ringed Plover, Black-tailed Godwit, Common Snipe, Common Sandpiper, Greenshank, 4 Redshank, Red Kite NW, 3 Swallow, 4 House Martin, 3 Cetti's Warbler, 2 Sedge Warbler, 12 Reed Warbler, 4 Blackcap, 7 Yellow Wagtail (including 1 Blue-headed) (Oscar Dewhurst); 4 Little Ringed Plover, still 4 Lapwing chicks, 1 Wigeon, singing Reed Bunting (Martin Honey) *London Zoo: 2 Swallow, 2 House Martin, 3 Swift, 3 Blackcap (Sam Jones) *Mayflower Park: Peregrine, male Reed Bunting, 5 Reed Warbler territories (Bob Smith) *Rainham Marshes: Cattle Egret on Purfleet marsh, Great White Egret high W over Aveley Pools, 4 Little Egret, Pink-footed Goose on Aveley Pools, 5 Bar-tailed Godwit, 4 Whimbrel, Greenshank, 6 Avocet, Common Snipe, Ruff, 4 Dunlin, Grey Plover, 3 Ringed Plover, Common Sandpiper, Barn Owl, Wheatear, 2 Yellow Wagtail, 3 Marsh Harrier, Peregrine, 3 Hobby, Raven (Andrew Self/RSPB) *Richmond Park: Shelduck over, 3m Red-crested Pochard, Red-legged Partridge, Garden Warbler, Common Sandpiper (Friday BG); Yellow Wagtail over (Phil Davies, P. Redmond, S. Woolfenden) *South Lodge Farm: 2 Red-legged Partridge, 19 Stock Dove, 9 Barn Swallow, f Yellow Wagtail feeding amongst horses, 2 Common Whitethroat pr, 2 Long-tailed Tit pr, 14 Starling (Robert Callf) *The Brook BR5: 4-5 Blackcap, 1-2 Chiffchaff, 4+ singing Song Thrush, 5 Herring Gull, 3+ Lesser Black-backed Gull, Linnet, calling Goldcrest (Jack Headley) *Walthamstow Marshes: 6+ Common Whitethroat, 1+ Lesser Whitethroat (path between Lammas Meadow and Porter's Field), 2 Linnet (Paul Francis) thanks to Eugene for help in search for lifetime tick of LW *Walthamstow Wetlands: 8 Sand Martin 4pr nesting by Coppermill Tower (Ian Green, Charlie Owens) *Warren Farm, Norwood Green: f Kestrel, Little Owl on eggs, several Skylark territories, 10 Swallow N, 2 Mistle Thrush, Blue Tit, Great Tit both nesting in abandoned buildings (Phil Belman) *Yeading "Jollys Ln": local Red Kite circling low in distance (Neil Anderson) Thursday 2nd May 2019 * Aldenham Country Park: 16 Swallow, Common Whitethroat, 3 Chiffchaff, Nuthatch, Blackcap, Treecreeper, 4 Pied Wagtail, 2 Grey Wagtail, 23 Tufted Duck, 9 Great Crested Grebe, 3 Greylag, 6 Gadwall, Goldcrest. (Samuel Levy) * Alexandra Park: M Greenland Wheatear, Yellow Wagtail, 23 Swift, 3 Swallow, Peregrine, m Common Whitethroat, Small Heath (APOG Birders) * Bankside “SE1”: Common Whitethroat singing at east end of Tate Modern at 18.30 (Reuben Braddock) * Brookmill Park: Sparrowhawk, Stock Dove, Song Thrush, 2 singing Blackcap (Conrad Ellam) * Crouch End: 8+ Swift circling, Swallow N over Park Road 10am (Bob Watts) * Ealing "W13": 2 Swift N and 3 others milling around - local breeders? - this morning (Bill Haines) * Elstree: Red Kite, 2 Swallow (Samuel Levy) * Finchley: Garden N3 - Swift, 2 Swallow N, 4+ Stock Dove (Samuel Levy) *Gallions Reach: Osprey N 0850, Common Sandpiper, 3 Sand Martin, 34 Swallow NW, Skylark, Yellow Wagtail (Gary James via Essex BwS) * Golders Hill Park: 8 Herring Gull with 3 Lesser Black-backed Gull remarkable nos. for site, 2 singing Blackcap, 5 newly hatched Canada goslings (James Levy) * Gordon Square gardens: Firecrest - singing male late pm (Sam Jones) * Greenwich: Trafalgar Rd 11 Swift NW, Peregrine. Power Station 2 Grey Wagtail, 4 Swallow NW (Richard Green) * Greenwich Peninsula: 8 Swallow NW, Blackcap 1 m, Common Whitethroat 2 m (Richard Green) * Greenwich Peninsula Ecology Park: 10 Common Tern, 10 Sand martin, 4 Swallow, 3 Reed Warbler, Blackcap m, Reed Bunting m (Richard Green,John Bushall) * Holland Park. Buzzard very low south, mobbed by Crows. (Chris Turner) * Hilfield Park Reservoir (Hogg Lane viewing platform): 4 Red Kite, ridiculous amounts of Swift impossible to count fully but easily 2-300, 30+ Swallow, 10 Common Buzzard, 3 Blackcap, Sparrowhawk, Chiffchaff, Bullfinch, 4 Sand Martin, Common Whitethroat, 2 Reed Warbler, Common Tern, Arctic Tern, 6 House Martin, 2 Reed Bunting, 8 Black-necked Grebe, 11 Gadwall, 22 Tufted Duck, Goldcrest, 2 Little Grebe, 16 Great Crested Grebe, 2 Cormorant, Skylark. (Samuel Levy) * Honeydale Farm, Ruxley,: 1 Wheatear still late pm (Jack Headley) * Lewisham: 4 Swift n 6.45 (Conrad Ellam) * London Wetland Centre: Shelduck, 3 Teal, 100 Swift (mostly N), Water Rail, 24 Lapwing (including 4 chicks still), 2 Little Ringed Plover, Black-tailed Godwit, 6 Snipe, Common Sandpiper, 4 Redshank, Common Tern, 3 Red Kite NW, 8 Buzzard (N/NW), Hobby, Peregrine, 12 Swallow, 3 House Martin, 6 Cetti's Warbler, 4 Sedge Warbler, 15 Reed Warbler, Stonechat, 4 Yellow Wagtail (Oscar Dewhurst, Simon Fogg). * Lower Morden: Lesser Whitethroat (Bob Smith) *Mardyke, Stifford-Aveley: incl m Whinchat (Alan Shearman per ELBF FB) * Margravine Cemetery: Swallow, 10 Long-tailed Tit fledglings (Nathalie Mahieu) *North Ockendon "Fair Play Farm": incl 2f Whinchat, 2 Yellow Wagtail (Alan Shearman per ELBF FB) *Perivale Wood LNR: Buzzard over 11:55 (Phil Belman) *Rainham RSPB: Pink-footed Goose, Cattle Egret, Great Egret bird in breeding plumage per RSLB blog, 4 Avocet 2pr, Grey Plover, 3 Whimbrel, Ruff, Wood Sandpiper, 2 Greenshank (Andy Tweed et al per ELBF FB) *Rainham Village: Common Buzzard, 2 Hobby, 4 Swift (Richard Harrison) * Richmond Park: 5 Red Kite - three went SE, 8 Buzzard - three went NW, Peregrine, 2 Common Tern prevented from landing on nesting rafts by gulls, 20 Swift mostly N, 25 Swallow mostly N, f Wheatear, 2 Whinchat, 100+ Starling''' (J.Wilczur); Common Sandpiper (S.Read) *RSPB Rainham Marshes: 3 Whimbrel, Swift also noted going through, and '''Great White Egret reported (Andrew Gouldstone) * St James's Park: Reed Warbler, 2 Swift (Frank Nugent) * Stanmore, Marsh Lane: Common Buzzard over (Samuel Levy) * South Lodge Farm: 23 Stock Dove feeding, 5 Barn Swallow, f Northern Wheatear, 40+ Starling (Robert Callf) * Staines Reservoirs: 3 Dunlin, 2 Oystercatchers, 2 Little Ringed Plover, 3 Black-necked Grebe, 1 Scaup, am (Dave Morris per FJM) *Stoneleigh Station KT17: 3 Blackcap, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Goldcrest (Neil Batten) *Streatham Common: 1 Swallow followed by 2 Swifts at 9.30am (Peter Newmark) *Surbiton: 2 Swift, Peregrine high (Phil Davies) *Totteridge Valley: 4 Swallow, 3 Common Buzzard, Red Kite, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, 14 singing Chiffchaff, 22 singing Whitethroat, 29 singing Blackcap, 10 Rook (John Colmans) 7 Swallow, Grey Heron, 8 Lapwing, Little Owl, Treecreeper. Also 2 Muntjac. (Samuel Levy) *Trent Park: 4 Mistle Thrush 2ad 2juvs Shaws Wd (Robert Callf) *Tufnell Park: 2 Swallows over NW, 6 Swifts between Tufnell Park and Kentish Town Tube Stations (Francis Tusa). *Walthamstow Marshes: Wheatear (f), 5 Linnet (rear paddocks), 7 Sand Martin (Leyton Marsh/canal), 3 Lesser Whitethroat (singing, E and W of rear paddocks and N of boardwalk), 3 Sedge Warbler, Reed Bunting (singing, N of boardwalk), Reed Warbler (singing, Bomb Crater Field ditch), 8 Common Whitethroat (singing across patch) (Alastair Dent) *Wanstead Flats: 10 Swift, 25 Swallow, 12 House Martin north (+3 resident), 3 Sand Martin, 2 Lesser Whitethroat, 16+ Whitethroat, Cetti's Warbler, 2 Mistle Thrush, singing Meadow Pipit, Grey Wagtail, 5 Skylark,Stock Dovve, 2 Linnet, Pochard, Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon, 2 Red Kite, 3 Buzzard, 3 Sparrowhawk, 19 Black-headed Gull (Nick Croft) 'Wednesday 1st May 2019' *Alexandra Park: Garden Warbler (FOY), 6 Swift (FOY), Wheatear, Little Grebe incl pair Pochard Boating Lake, pair Gadwall Wood Green Res, Peregrine, 2 Common Buzzard, 2 Greylag {Small Heath (FOY), 2 Orange Tip} (APOG Birders) *Beckenham Crematorium/Cemetery: 6 Swifts briefly (not local) headed North East 14:35 (Michael Mac) *Cray Valley Golf Course: 2 singing Common Whitethroat in brief visit (Jack Headley) *Forty Hall CP: 2 Kingfisher (Robert Callf) *Gipsy Hill/Crystal Palace: Starlings taking food to a few nests - this is Swift nesting area and none here as yet. I wonder what Swifts do when they return to find long used nest sites filled and no other available nest sites in the area? General concern about cavity nesting birds like Swifts and Starlings. (Michael Mac) *Greenford UB6: 1st Swift of year over garden (Neil Anderson) *Greenwich Peninsula: Common Whitethroat, 2 Linnet (Richard Green) *Greenwich Peninsula Ecology Park: 10 Common Tern, 8 Sand Martin, Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Common Whitethroat, Redd Bunting pair. (Richard Green, John Bushall) *Hampstead Heath "Parliament Hill": Lesser Whitethroat showing well by gap in hedge 2, Common Whitethroat, m Blackcap, f Sparrowhawk with prey (Allan Stewart) *Hornsey N8: 15+ Swift (Mark Wardman) *Honeydale Farm, Ruxley,: At least 2 Wheatear in horse fields mid a'noon, 3 Swallow, 3+ Pied Wagtail, c2 singing Skylark, few Linnet around (Jack Headley) *Hyde Park: 30+ House Martin late pm scattering in all directions from what looked like a Peregrine (rather than a Hobby). (Samuel Levy) *Kensington Gardens: 2 Garden Warbler (Des Mckenzie tweet) *KGV Res; am, 2 Common Sandpiper, 1 Yellow Wagtail over, 10 Swift, 1 Fieldfare west (LOW?, FOM?) (A.Middleton) *Leatherhead, Randalls Way: 1 Swallow sw. 1 singing Blackcap (Neil Batten) *London Wetland Centre: Greenshank, Oystercatcher both grazing marsh, 4 Common Tern, 2 Little Ringed Plover, 3 Common Snipe, 4 Redshank, 3 Shelduck, 21 Swift, Swallow, 4 Lapwing chicks (WWT website) *Lower Morden: Little Egret (Michelle Allan per Bob Smith) *Pinner: Common Whitethroat on back lawn! 07:35 (Richard Francis) *Rainham Village: Common Buzzard, 8 Swift (Richard Harrison) *Rainham Marshes RSPB: Curlew, 4 Avocet, Hobby, Cuckoo m (Andrew Haynes) *South Norwood Country Park Lake: singing Reed Warbler, drinking Collared Dove, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel - no swifts! Mid-afternoon (Michael Mac) *Staines Reservoirs: 2 Dunlin, 2 Little Ringed Plover, 2 Black-necked Grebe am (Bob Warden per FJM) 20 Common Tern, 2 Oystercatcher, Black-necked Grebe, 3 Swift, 20 Swallow, House Martin, 3 Shelduck, Shoveler (Sam Jones; brief visit ~ 1730) * Stave Hill/Russia Dock Woodland: no sign of Garden Warbler this morning, 20+ House Martin over the Shed for a few minutes before moving N, 1 Common Buzzard (John & Janet Cadera, Kathy Morris) * Swanscombe Marsh “Black Duck Marsh” 10.45-11.45: 1 Hobby, 2 Marsh Harrier, 4 Buzzard, 2 Bearded Tit, 1 House Martin (in nest), 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Nightingale h, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Ring-necked Parakeet, c10 Reed Warbler, 2 Pochard, 4 Tufted Duck, 5 Grey Heron, 6 Shelduck (river), 2 Whitethroat (Roger Keith) * Thames at Chelsea (from Cremorne Gardens): Egyptian Goose, Red Kite circled over thames before heading west 14:48, vocal Oystercatcher flew downriver 14:20, 5 Black-headed Gull (Des Mckenzie tweets). * The Brook BR5: pr Gadwall, 4+ singing Blackcap, singing Chiffchaff, 2 Egyptian Goose (Jack Headley) *Totteridge Valley/ Darlands Lake: 38 Blackcap, 18 Swallow, 10 Starling, 17 Chiffchaff, 4 Lesser Whitethroat, 2 Little Owl, Pied Wagtail, 2 House Martin, 32+ Rook, 43 Stock Dove, 25 Common Whitethroat, 11 Lapwing, Tree Pipit (Dropped into Old Gropper field but not relocated), Yellow Wagtail, 2 Swift high N (foy), 4 Goldcrest, 2 Teal, 5 Common Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, Linnet, 6 Red Kite (inc 3 drifting extremely high SE), 2 Grey Heron, Treecreeper, 4 Tufted Duck. Also Muntjac, Orange-Tip, Peacock, Speckled Wood and plenty of St Marks Flys. (Samuel Levy & Tony Clancy) *Walthamstow Marshes: 4 Common Whitethroat, 2 Chiffchaff, 2 Blackcap, Redwing (rear paddocks), Pied Wagtail, 2 Linnet (Jon Agar) *Walthamstow Wetlands: 2 Common Tern (Jon Agar) *Wanstead Flats: Green Sandpiper (Sean Kerrigan), Willow Warbler, 10+ Whitethroat territories, 2 Lesser Whitethroat, Cetti's Warbler, Yellow Wagtail, singing Meadow Pipit, 11 House Martin, 3 Swallow, Sand Martin, 1 Swift, Buzzard, 2 Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, Hobby, 2 Gadwall, f Pochard, Linnet, 3 Mistle Thrush (Nick Croft/Sean Kerrigan) *Wanstead Park: Reed Warbler, 7 Whitethroat territories, 2 Little Egret, 4 Little Grebe, Pochard, Kestrel, Hobby, Red Kite, 5 Swift, Swallow, 2 singing Mistle Thrush (Nick Croft) *Westminster: 2 Common Sandpiper on the foreshore next to Palace of Westminster at 08:15 before departing W (Frank Nugent) *Wimbledon Common: Wheatear (m), Reed Bunting singing on the Plain, 4 Buzzard, 4 Swift, 2 Egyptian Geese with one gosling remaining at Rushmere (Adrian Podmore) *Woodford Green: Little Egret over 08.25, 4 Swift over at 10.00 and 9 over at 17.15, Swallow over 10.08, Grey Wagtail over at 10.30, 2 Buzzards, Red Kite and Goshawk all high and going East at 12.37, 12.39 and 12.41 respectively, + Sparrowhawk carrying prey item 13.00 and Hobby going West low at 13.19.(Ken Murray) Archived News Link to previous months